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  • Writer's pictureLeah Vizgan
    • Mar 17, 2020
    • 18 min read

Quarantined with Kids Plus Easy DIY Activities & Games

Updated: May 21, 2020

Are your kids’ schools closed like ours for the next few weeks? 🤪 I put together some simple, FUN and quick set-up activities for kids.


If you are feeling scared, anxious, nervous and overwhelmed, I am too and that is ok. One day at a time is all we can do. I’m determined to bring YOU all some relief to get you through the next few weeks. 💛

How to Survive a Self Isolation Quarantine with Kids


Make a schedule

You don't have to follow the schedule, but mentally, it helps me feel like my day has some sort of structure and I’m not the only one who needs structure. Being home for long periods of time from daycare or school is weird and disorientating for the kids, too.

What my schedule looks like:

I make my kids clean up after themselves.

Usually, I tell my kids to clean up, and they sort of do, but then I usually end up finishing the task. And honestly, there aren’t enough minutes in my lifetime to watch my 3-year-old cleanup.


Now, though, we have time. WE HAVE ALL THE TIME (insert insane laughter as I paint my face with glitter).


And in order to move on to the next activity, I make them clean up. And if they don’t? We don’t move on. Because again, we have ALL the time in the world.



Create a Reward Chart

Every time my toddler gets 5 stickers/hearts she gets a gift 🎁. The gift can be anything from cheap toys you bought specifically for this and give them, a treat like candy, cookie, chocolate, or screen time. Whatever works best for your family and household. It's totally customizable from the tasks to the presents. Then we erase and start over. I laminated them and draw on them with dry-erase markers and wipe the markers off after they have earned their gift. And I left blank boxes for future editing or adding tasks.

This board has really helped my almost 3yr old when she tries to fight to do something I asked her to do, when she's trying to stop eating or when she refuses to go to bed or clean up. I remind her, "if you don’t eat, you won’t get a sticker and if you do, you will. Then you will be one sticker closer to getting your present/treat". And I involve her in showing her how I give her a sticker or don’t give her one and explain each time now you have 1 sticker, when you get 5, you will get your present... now you have 2, when u have 5... now you have 4, you only need 1 more... and then I ask her "how many do you need" and she says 5, and I say "how many do u have?" and she counts all 5 excitedly and I say "what present do u want?" and then I give it to her. You can start with 2 or 3 stickers (i say stickers but I use a marker or magnets)

This allows them to feel like they accomplished something and they get a reward when they accomplish it.

We actually started with 1 sticker when we first introduced the board. So I basically introduced the board to her but we didn’t use it so much in the beginning because I told her if she eats all her food she gets a treat. And when she ate it all I gave her a treat immediately.

I let her feel the reward and that it was real. Then we moved up to 3 stickers. And now 5.


I also sometimes say you need to do it because I asked you to, so I don't use the system for everything. I am also explaining why she should do these things and the importance etc and when she's older I guess the system will change according to her age, understanding etc.

I also do the opposite of it all, if she doesn't do something I asked her to do, I take things away. Again, not all the time but I also want her to know that actions have consequences. Then the "present" that she earns as one of her rewards can be to get her toy that was taken away back. She didn't eat her dinner tonight and now she cannot watch the TV. I turned it off. Also, my approach changes as I try things and see if they work for us or not.

(Great Idea shared with me by Orly)



I allow for more screen time.

With my first kid, I was pretty militant about screen time. With my second kid, less so, but I still have pretty strict rules.


Your mental health is more important than your kids watching an extra hour (or two) of screens. If you need a break so you can come back in thirty minutes and be a better parent, do it. Or maybe you just need to cook or brush your teeth or want to sit in peace and quiet while you drink a coffee. It's ok. Your still a good parent. We all need and deserve a break.


Educational YouTube Shows I recommend:


Potty Train

Use this time indoors to start potty training.


EASY INDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS


Color Match Game

I drew circles and colored them, then I found pom poms and little wooden people to use for color matching. I ask my toddlers to tell me the names of the colors as they place them. You can also make it more challenging and fun by timing it or by competition of who can do it the fastest.


Learn Colors & Create your own Masterpiece with this awesome Paint Squirting Idea!


We had so much fun painting these beautiful, original, one of a kind art pieces. The kids had even more fun by being able to make their own discoveries, squirting paint wherever they chose, and play with the materials.

Squirt bottle painting is such a fun outdoor art activity for kids. In my opinion (and the girls) it really is the best Summer art idea ever! We had so much fun! By squirting paint onto canvas's and large cardboard using paint-filled quirt bottles you can create some wall-worthy artwork as well as having loads of fun. Squirt painting is a fun Summer art idea that works on fine motor skills for preschoolers as well as being a super fun painting technique for kids of all ages!


👉🏼YOU’LL NEED:

- Squirt Bottles

- Paint

- Cardboard, Canvas, or whatever you want to paint on

- Glitter (optional)

- I also cut out their names using stencils from cardboard




JELLO Sensory Play Bin

Make a wiggly, jiggly fun sensory activity with a JELLO Sensory Play Bin. Add in a few toys and you’ve got a learning Jello bin. This was such a brilliant activity for my toddlers! They had a wonderful sensory experience digging and squishing in the cold Jello while telling me the names and sounds of the animals as they pulled them out. I also included cookie cutters for additional fun. It was a perfect mix of learning and play. The set up for this activity was so easy, I don't know why I have never done it before. I made the Jello the night before. As I poured it into pans to set, I added the toys. For our activity, I used four boxes of Jello for that massive amount. It was a lot. And it was also delicious. 👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - Jello - Toys (animals, sea animals, cars, alphabet or number magnets, cookie cutters.... etc) - plastic bins, long flat pans



Fireworks Painting Activity... how fun is this?!! Fun project for the 4th of July!

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls - paint, water paint works best 👉🏼Tips: • Add a small amount of glitter to the wet paint to finish off the ‘fireworks’ effect! • Use a ‘bounce and twist’ motion as you transfer the paint and fireworks pattern onto the paper. • Cut the cardboard tubes into different lengths to create different size firework prints. • Do not place the cardboard tubs into the paint until you are ready to use them because after a while the cardboard strips become soft and will break off after they have been in the wet paint for some time. • If you paint on black or dark paper the colors really pop. Also try this with fluorescent paint, it looks amazing. 👉🏼Learning Opportunities: • Imagination and Creativity • Fine Motor Development • Hand-Eye Coordination and Control • Cause and Effect • Color recognition and creating new colors.


Fun DIY Activities to Celebrate Independence Day / 4th of July 👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - paint - glue 💥 Fireworks: - toilet paper rolls - cut out paper circles just a bit larger than toilet paper roll for top - decorations: sequins, glitter... ✡ Stars: - popsicle sticks - string


Popsicles:

- Fruit Juice - Fruit Slices/Diced Fruit




Painting Nails

Please disregard my horrible drawing. I just traced my hands and let my daughter paint the nails. She loves this activity and asks me to do it every day. She is so focused, it's amazing, honestly, I have no idea why but hey if it makes her happy, I'm happy. :)




DIY Poke Holes in a paper towel roll

let kids stick objects threw it


DIY Sun Spinner



🐰 DIY Cardboard Bunnies & Spring Flowers


Using cardboard I drew two bunnies for my girls to decorate with flowers they collected on our walk through nature that morning. 🌸🌺🐿 I gave them some glue sticks and they stuck on all the beautiful flowers they had found. 🐾💖🐰




Bunny Stamp Painting


Feed the Bunny

Animal DIY Cardboard Game made from a Box & Balls we had in the house already. You could also use Pom Poms or rings. We made a Family game out of it, seeing who could actually make the balls into the bunny. The kids had so much fun. • Develop Fine Motor Skills • Hand-Eye Coordination • Color Recognition





Play a Game of Egg Hunt Bing


Kids love to search and find the colorful eggs. AND This can be played indoors.

Do limit the hunt to one room or one part of the house. I always stuck to just the living room and the dining room, which were right next to each other for round one and then the kid's bedroom or playroom for round two. Although we would go back and forth several times since my toddler wants to play again and again. Create a fun learning experience by adding different items inside the plastic eggs like animals, dinosaurs or other objects or toys around the house. This makes the game more interesting and exciting. When they find the eggs, have them explain what's inside. "What's the name of the toy or object? Describe the object. Ask the child what [he or she] thinks about the object. You are looking at a dinosaur! That is a very strong dinosaur, isn’t it? Do you like dinosaurs!? That dinosaur is green and yellow. And look, over there, there’s another one—do you know what to call it?” Create a word search or Learn the alphabet game.

Put a letter inside of each egg, and make it so that all the letters together form a word or phrase. After they find the eggs, they can sit and form words.

Fill 26 eggs with letters inside and after they find them all, help them put the letters in order. Activity Eggs Add activity notes inside each egg for example, "Do 10 jumping jacks" and have the kids complete the exercise before they find another or offer rewards like getting a piece of candy.

For toddlers, simplify the directions to age-appropriate things like, "Hop like a bunny", "Sing Baby Shark" or "Do a dance".


Let the crafting begin!


Gorgeous Egg Carton Flower Crown or Wreath

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED:

  • Egg Cartons

  • Paint

  • Glue Gun

  • Hairband

  • Gemstones

  • Pom Poms

  • Pearls

The flowers were made from egg cartons, and painted. Leaves were also made with egg cartons. Leave the flowers out to dry overnight. Then use a glue gun to attach them to a hairband. Add gemstones, pom-poms, and pearls to decorate.


Egg Carton Boat


Recycle an egg carton by making it into a boat! This super cute craft is simple enough for little kids and fits mini dolls too. A temporary toy, which can actually float! 👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - Egg Carton - Foil - Tape - Glue - Fabric - Sticks



DIY Picture Projector 📽 🔦

A cute activity where kids can see their creations on the wall, ceiling – anywhere they want! Also great for sleepovers, camping trips, or bedtime stories! •

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED:

Toilet paper rolls

cellophane paper

Rubber band

Foam stickers

Flashlight

•

Since we are quarantined and running out of supplies, I used whatever I could find around the house to improvise. So I used clear sandwich bags, my phone’s flashlight, and whatever the only shape foam stickers we had that would fit... this would be cool with dinosaurs, animals or any fun shapes your kids like.

🎨 Popped Bubble Art

A fascinating experience for the kids! Simply color bubble mix with food coloring and blow bubbles onto paper - as the bubbles land and pop, they create beautiful works of art. It goes without saying that this project is best done outdoors.

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED:

- Bubble Mix

- Bubble Wands

- Food Coloring

- Paper


Pour 1 tablespoon of bubble mix into a small, shallow bowl.

Add a few drops of food coloring to the bubble mix and stir well

Place your bubble wand in the colored bubble mix, remove and blow bubbles towards your paper.

As the bubbles hit the paper and pop, they will leave interesting patterns. Repeat with other colors.


Tips:

• Caution: Food coloring will stain surfaces and clothing. Be sure to protect both!

• This activity can be frustrating on a windy day - as the wind makes it hard to get the bubbles to hit the target paper!



Colored Rice Sensory Bin


This has surprisingly kept my girls busy, focused, and interested for a lot longer than I expected. A Mommy Win-Win! 👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - To color the rice, just put rice into ziplock back, mix with a few drops of paint, and set out on wax paper to dry. That's it! - There are so many activities you can do with colored rice like hiding toys by theme, for example, sea animals, farm animals, dinosaurs; drawing in the rice, and simply playing with it.


DIY🌈 TRACING ✍🏻 Sensory Bin

with Colored Rice to practice pre-writing strokes and lines adding fun with search and find and practicing counting and arranging in numerical order.

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED:

A bin or tray filled with rice, sand or flour. (I dyed my rice but putting it in a zip lock bag with a few drops of paint, shaking it until it was all painted adding more paint as needed. Then I set the rice out to dry on wax paper)


Rice can be used for a sensory bin in many ways. My original idea was to bury veggies to add a step to our home grocery store and kitchen setup.

However, I did not have enough rice to cover the veggies nor did I have brown paint... So instead I decided to hide some numbers I had already and let the kids search for them, pull them out then put the numbers in order. Then after we found all the numbers, I had them draw the number in the rice. An interesting learning experience.

Tip: We did this on a towel so any fallen rice could be easily cleaned up and put back in the bin for future use.



Do you wanna build a snowman?


👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: - Toilet paper rolls

- Paint

- Googly eyes would be additional more fun

- Pom Poms for the dots



🌲 Making pine cone trees are so cute plus it's a super easy and fun activity. My toddler couldn’t stop at one. She made me go searching for pine cones every day 🤣 She was so focused and kept herself busy painting them green and pouring glitter on top, the entire glitter jar to be specific. ✨ You can find any nature type items like tree branches, leaves, rocks and you can also use nail polish for this activity as well.

Obstacle courses

Obstacle courses can work on so many different things and can easily be put together with stuff around the house. It's great for combining gross and fine motor activities. It helps to work on sequencing, motor planning, attention, balance, and taking turns (if there are more kids). You can also add sensory components or movement directions (ex. stand on one foot at this obstacle, do jumping jacks). You can add as many steps as you like depending on your child's abilities. I had my little one transfer one hoop at a time onto the cone as they made their way across the course. Here I used cupcake pans, hoola hoops, rings and cones, a step stool, a baby wooden gym (removed the toys) and a crawl tunnel. (Got motivated from @myplayhousetherapy).


Shape Match Busy Game ⭕

I am always looking for brain games to keep the kids busy and these little shapes from the @target Dollar Spot were a great deal that allowed us to use our imagination and use them for several different activities. You can use any shapes you have around the house including making your own cut out shapes if need be. I have my toddlers matching the colors & shapes to the shape cards I laid out for them. For older kids, you can have the shape names written out to make it a little more challenging. You really can’t go wrong with a simple loose part like this. It can also be a life-saver for being stuck in the house as they stay occupied linking the shapes together once they get bored.




⭐ DIY POPSICLE STICK GAME 🔵

So simple, colorful and fun! 🤩 Great way to reuse old boxes ♻. Just use a knife to cut some slits into a box and slide the popsicle sticks in each slot 😉. This game had both my girls interested and kept them busy for a little bit. 👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: -Box -Knife -Popsicle sticks

-You could use straws, tree branches, or other objects around the house instead


Go all out and Make a Cardboard House!

Cut a few “window” holes in a box and all of a sudden it’s {Amazon} Prime real estate! 😂 It has been such a joy watching my sweet girls grow into their imaginations.

Add a Mail Box to it for extra fun and use of the imagination. 📦 All three sides of the mailbox have different posting activities! (The big holes on the side are to remove objects also) ☺ my little ones had so much fun posting notes through the front holes and removing them from the side and then putting colored popsicle sticks in the correct colored doors on the side. (Mailbox idea by @busy_bubs_play)


t’s a Fiesta 🎊💃🏻 Bang the Drums 🥁 Then put kids down for a Siesta 💤 • DIY - I bought some sombrero hats & colorful buckets then added wooden drum sticks and voila it’s a party! It also works on hand-eye coordination. This is How we have FuN!

You can use any buckets, sticks, and hats you have around the house.


DIY Gigantic Coloring Book

Super easy and simple plus loads of fun! HomeMade by me, please disregard my lack of drawing skills 😄, the kids could care less and they love it.

Literally just took a really big paper and starting drawing in black marker. Then I tried to work with the kids on coloring within the lines and what colors to use on particular images. P.S. I did this while the kids were sleeping and gave it to them the next day. I never would have been able to draw while the kids were awake.


Drawing


Working on Lines • DIY workbook #TracingPatterns




Wrap some rubber bands around a box with toys inside and let kids figure out how to retrieve them.


Threading

Threading is good for concentration, coordination and developing fine motor skills. Activities that strengthen the muscles in the fingers and the hand and have the child use the little pincer grip. I gathered toys from around the house that could be used for this activity. In the picture below you will see some of the items used, plus we saved toilet paper and paper towel roles also for use during this activity. (Creative idea by @gali_meerovich)


Teaching Handwriting

I show my toddler how to form letters and numbers by drawing dotted lines and having her follow the lines. She is very concentrated and always loves a new challenge.


I have been introducing math to my toddler.

She is eager to learn so I was verbally telling her addition and subtraction repetitively and I noticed that she was interested and picking it up. So I then created this math chart for a visual and hands-on activity. Toddlers need to be actively engaged in the learning process, not idling watching someone else demonstrate... otherwise they get bored and distracted easily. So I let her place the numbers on the board and help her count to get the correct answer. She gets extremely excited when she gets the answers correct. I love watching her grow and learn.




Elaborative Reminiscing

The repeated act of “elaborative reminiscing” has been shown to benefit autobiographical memory and narrative ability.

Use this endless amount of time to talk about past experiences, you can even use photos as a visual aid. “Ask, "Here’s a picture of ____, right?, What were you doing? Did you enjoy it? Would you like to do it again?" or "Do you remember what we did last time we visited ____?’”. Try to stay on a topic for as long as you can, asking questions about it and allowing the child to elaborate on who, what, when, where, how, and why something happened, and how the child felt about it.

DIY Montessori Sensory Walkway

Recycle giant foam puzzle pieces by adding different textures to each puzzle piece. Or cut out square-shapes from poster boards, cardboard or anything else you think would be suitable for this activity. (Tip: Add non-slip rug mats under each one to prevent slipping.) You can also set this up as a sensorial hopscotch game. This creative sensory walk activity is great for exploring the senses. This is also an excellent idea for recycling foam mats and old toys after the kids get sick of them. (Amazing idea by @gali_meerovich)




A Cardboard Car Parking Garage

Another Activity that could be done together with older kids or done after the kids go to bed. Super simple to make, you just need some paper towel rolls and leftover boxes, glue, a marker, and some cars. Great way to recycle boxes from deliveries. My daughter loves it.



Giant Wall Art

Create a coloring Board on the Wall. Just tape paper to the wall covering as much space as possible and let the kids go wild. They can paint, color, put stickers or whatever their imaginations inspire them to do. Just try to make sure the paper is thick enough that the markers or paint won't bleed through to the wall. (Awesome idea shared by @glukiland)


Arts & Crafts

Sponge painting with make-up sponges I found on sale at the local pharmacy. A heart cut out of cardboard. Sock Hand Puppets and a Fabric Bag. Materials used are socks, strings, fabric, googly eyes, pom pom balls, fabric, ribbon, sequins, and glue.



Sticky Tape Game

Hang Tape from one side of the wall to the other and let the kids stick things to it. We used paper cups but you could use anything really. (Amazing idea by @gali_meerovich)



Hacky Sack / Ball Toss

Bring an outdoor game indoors. This game can also be easily made with cardboard boxes and any balls you have at home already.



Exercise, Dance, Do Kids Yoga.

Keep the kids moving.

Let the kids play with cardboard boxes


Learn the ABC's

Get creative. Use things you already have to make learning fun.


Play with the air, dance with the wind and invest the space by creating various arabesques with a ribbon wand.


This wand encourages children to move, waving and twirling to create beautiful figures, exploring the movement of the ribbon as they dance!


I have no idea why but my 2yr old has always enjoyed holding a ribbon while walking and watching it drag along the floor after her. This was so easy to make, took literally a minute. I bought a simple wooden stick from the local craft store and I had some ribbon at home. I screwed into the wood stick a circular screw and tied the ribbon to it.



DIY Ball Drop Game with Color Recognition

This is a fun activity for my little one. She loves dropping balls wherever she finds an opportunity. I decided to use colors to promote color recognition while she did this activity. She really enjoys it and was so happy when I introduced it to her. This one is definitely going into the rotation and kept her quite occupied for about 20 minutes or so. I made this toilet paper rolls wrapped in colored tape, then used clear tape to attach them to a cardboard box we had leftover from a new washing machine purchase. You could easily tape the rolls to a wall as well. I then bought styrofoam balls and we painted them together with the same colors as the toilet paper rolls and there you have it, a homemade ball drop game.


A second ball drop game that the kids love, I made by cutting circle shapes out of the top of a shoe box and buying large pom pom balls to push through the holes.


Another Ball Drop Game


Pom Pom's Game



Montessori Color Sorting Activity


This Color Sorting Activity encourages cognitive skills that are fostered while learning about specific concepts pertinent to the bin’s contents, in this case, putting the correct colored blocks into the same color cup. My daughter does this so fast, I take it out every other day and she sorts in about a minute and then cleans it all up and returns it to its place. My youngest daughter loves watching her do so and then messing it all up.


I had both colored cups and colored blocks from other games in the house, so I decided to recycle these toys and create a color sorting activity.


These cups originally came with fruits and vegetable toys that are to be sorted by color. Promoting kids to learn the names of each fruit and vegetable and what color they are. A great game that I highly recommend and has been a fun way to learn and play.



Ring Toss Game


I used the same colored cups above to create another game, ring toss.


This can be played anywhere, it's also fun for camping or beach trips. Helping to develop kids skills and improve eye-hand coordination as well as fine motor skills plus math addition. This is also a great family game where you can start to teach your kids a valuable lesson about working together and team spirit by promoting a healthy competition rather than only winning. Also, a perfect bonding tool. I even created different "levels" of play by drawing lines on the driveway that are progressively farther away.


DIY Water Fall




Make Paper Catepilars


Water painting with glue and salt... 🎨 🌈

I won’t lie, this didn’t exactly go as planned... this basically ended with way too much salt being poured and hands in the salted glue, then it in their mouths 🤨😖 but it was a fun experience


Make Homemade Pizza!


Such a fun hands-on experience to include the kids and let them feel like they are helping to cook 💛🍕🥫

👉🏼YOU’LL NEED: -Dough -Sauce -Toppings -Rolling pin

Bake together!

Baking with kids creates happy, lasting memories, not to mention delicious treats. This can be tons of fun or a huge mess but still fun for the kids.

Gardening away our isolation boredom!

Dirty, wet and smiles and giggles while helping mommy and daddy clean the garden. We pulled out all the weeds, cut the bushes, swept the leaves while the kids threw dirt and water on themselves instead of the plants... Great accomplishment and a win-win for all.



Rainbow Painted Sticks

I made this to remind us of all the long walks and family time we had during lockdown with all the sticks the kids collected.#Quarantine2020

It's not perfect but it will forever be a reminder of this time 😁. I will frame it and hang it up.





Try Not To Be Scared and in a Panic But Do Take The Quarantine Rules Seriously. Let's stop the spread of this virus and move on with our lives.

Stay safe and healthy ❤






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